The Stag and The Doe
by potterwatch101
Summary: Lily Evans and James Potter have never been in the best of terms. In fact, they've maintained a tasteful animosity towards each other for the past six years and don't have plans on changing it. However, as Lily faces the threat of a dark lord arising and her blood status questioned within the wizarding world, she realizes the line between friends and enemies has been blurred.
1. Unexpected Visitor

**DISCLAIMER: ALL PUBLICLY RECOGNIZED CHARACTERS, SETTINGS, ETC. ARE THE PROPERTY OF THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS. THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS AND PLOT ARE THE PROPERTY OF THE AUTHOR. THE AUTHOR IS IN NO WAY ASSOCIATED WITH THE OWNERS, CREATORS, OR PRODUCERS OF ANY MEDIA FRANCHISE. NO COPYRIGHT INFRIGMENT IS INTENDED. **

_Sister,_

_ I regret to inform you that you are invited to my wedding. In all honesty, I would rather have committed sin than invite you to see me get married, however mother threatened to murder me if I didn't send an invitation. She said something about getting to bond with you before I leave forever. I guess our dear mother has never understood that I don't like you. In fact, if it were up to me you wouldn't even be allowed to attend within a ten mile radius. But at this point, I have no choice but to comply with mother's wishes. She paid for my wedding dress so I have a debt to repay. I don't want you getting the impression that I missed you or anything. _

_ The wedding is in four months. I would've given you the invitation at a later date but I'd rather just get it over with right now. After all, there is no point walking into a freezing pool slowly. You need to jump in and get out as quickly as you can so you don't dwell on the matter for long. For me, inviting you is like jumping into a freezing pool. I want you to show up in a presentable manner. Pin back that awful red hair of yours and wear something appropriate. You need to bring a date with you as well. I don't care who you pick as long as he shows up with some sort of style and charisma. If you can't find anyone you like, I'll arrange you to go with one of Vernon's cousins. But do not make a great ordeal for me like you normally do. I don't want to be swallowing down chagrin on my wedding day. _

_ Whatever you do, don't respond to this letter. I've had up to my high ends with these bloody owls. It's not normal the way they deliver mail. I have it hard as it is during the summer when you come home and write letters to your pathetic little friends. I'd rather not deal with owls or any type of birds for the rest of my life. Thankfully, I can be happy this summer because by the time you come home for the holidays, I will be long gone. Vernon and I will be happily married and moving into a very expensive house in a neighborhood far away from you. Your abnormality will be a thing of the past. But until then, I must continue to pretend like you don't exist. Make it easier for me and don't contact me in any forms of communication. Don't even write to mum and dad. Unlike them, I don't look forward to your letters. I pray that four months will go by a lot faster than I hope. _

_ - Petunia Evans_

This was the reason that Lily Evans had abruptly gotten up from the Great Hall and stormed away with her friends staring after her. Her heart, although very strong and caring, had a vital soft spot for Petunia. No matter what her sister said or did to her she never stopped caring. That was exactly why minutes before she opened the letter she grew excited that Petunia had written to her. She could even wager that her heart turned into an inflated balloon.

But after reading what was written, that balloon got punctured and tears were threatening to pool out of her eyes. She could not face her friends and continue eating dinner, pretending that nothing had happened after a stab like that. So her arm snapped up to dry her eyes and she rounded the corners of the castle, not very concerned with where she was going.

Unintentionally, she got to a corridor and walked in on the Marauders laughing hysterically at some joke while holding onto bottles of butterbeer from The Three Broomsticks. A separate part of her mind wondered how on earth they were able to sneak in goods from Hogsmeade into the castle so easily. It was very risky and frankly, easily punishable. If any prefect or teacher had caught them, they'd be in for a week of detention. Sweets from Hogsmeade were only allowed during their visits. The next Hogsmeade weekend wasn't due for another four weeks. She could use her power as a prefect to punish them and take away their fun, but she wasn't that cruel.

At the moment, crying was the only thing at the top of her mind. Not prefect duties. She wanted the comfort of her warm Gryffindor scarf and the cool outdoor air. Staying inside the castle was making her feel stuffy and uncomfortable. And then seeing James Potter and his friends laughing was only mocking her pain.

Unfortunately for her she had to walk by them to get outside. Lily pushed her red locks over her shoulder to cover her face as she briskly walked across the corridor.

_Don't notice me _she prayed in her head and repeatedly thought it like a mantra. To her avail, her prayer was not acknowledged and they did notice her. "Aren't you supposed to be at dinner, Evans?" asked James as she came into view. Her breath stopped in her throat, and she stared down at her shoes like a child being caught in some mischief. A tear had already streamed down her cheek and dripped to the floor, but her curtain of hair blocked him from seeing it.

Lily cleared her throat and said, "You know I could say the same for you."

James threw her a calculating gaze as Remus, Sirius, and Peter turned their grins into small smiles. After several seconds he said, "Something's different. Why aren't you giving us detention or ranting on about school rules. May I recall last time you said and I quote, '_Really Potter? A stink bomb in a Slytherin's drink? May I say how tacky and unoriginal that is? Not to mention it is highly unamusing considering your victim had to go down to the hospital wing. You know, someday this kind of tom foolery will get you expelled from this school. But until then, ten points from Gryffindor and report to Professor McGonagall for two weeks' worth of detention'_

Sirius and Peter burst out laughing whereas Remus turned his smile into a frown. She was good friends with him (as he was the other Gryffindor prefect) and he was able to tell that she was upset judging by the way she was hiding her face. But Lily couldn't even look at Remus because all the horrible things that Petunia had said in the letter were still running through her mind. The letter, at that moment, was being loosely held between her fingers.

"You can have a break this time Potter," she said, refusing to move her hair from her face. "It's kind of useless to give you detention seeing as you'll only do it again. I-I'll be going now." More tears were falling, and it was all she could do to keep her voice from shaking with sobs. Lily just wanted to be alone for a while. Her head needed some clearing up and the tears that were building up in her eyes needed to be released. Just as she was about to leave, James's hand encircled her arm "Are you alright?"

His voice was very sincere with actual concern laced into it. She could tell that this was not one of his normal infuriating pranks. Lily paused. _When did James Potter ever get so caring?_ James took her hesitance as an advantage to come closer. From the corner of her gaze she caught an unexpected gleam in his eyes. He looked at her as if the very thought of her sadness was heartbreaking. She was shocked to see this new side of emotion in James but also grew very touched that he legitimately cared about her. His dark brown eyes were shining under the light of the lamps but the emotion and glow behind it had nothing to do with the lighting. They reflected pain and anger, as if the idea of someone emotionally or physically hurting her would drive him to the point of hysteria. A weak smile touched his lips in a gesturing manner as his eyes flashed a look that made her weak in the knees. If she didn't know better, she would've thought he loved her.

It was actually a very tempting offer to just run into his arms and bawl her eyes out. But then their five (almost six) year animosity got in the way and instead of speaking her thoughts she replied, "I'll be fine," and tugged her arm away from his grip.

Her strides lengthened as she walked as quickly as she possibly could into the cool September air. For a moment, Lily looked at the moon that had already risen into the night sky, basking in its glory; and then she sprinted to the lake nearby the school.

* * *

As she left, James gave her one last lingering look before turning back to his friends. "She's not alright is she?"

"Gee Prongs," said Remus with sarcasm dripping his tone, "You are truly an expert when it comes to the female species."

James rolled his eyes at Remus and asked, "What could've made her so upset?"

Neither Peter, nor Sirius had an answer, although Sirius did clasp a hand down on his shoulder and solemnly said, "It's probably her monthly," before grinning and then bursting out into laughter. James laughed along with him, but he kept wondering what it was that put her at the brink of despair. As his eyes wandered around the corridor, he caught a slightly crumpled up piece of paper on the ground.

James picked it up and turned it over. _Sister, _it read at the very top.

"It's a letter," he said to Sirius, Remus, and Peter. James' eyes skimmed the letter quickly and as he reached the very end of it, a winter cold glare shaped his face. This letter, without a doubt, belonged to Lily. The person who wrote their name on the bottom had the same surname, _Evans. _Judging by what it said this was her sister writing to her. "No wonder Evans was so out of it," he exclaimed while Remus took the letter from his hands, "After reading a letter like that who wouldn't be pissed?"

"What did it say?" asked Peter.

"Her sister's getting married," James answered with an exasperated sigh, "the letter was an invitation, but her sister's regrettably informing her that she's invited. I think she'd rather swallow a hippogriff whole than have Lily attend. And then there was some other shit about magic being-"

"An abnormality," Moony finished for him as his eyes trailed to the end of the page. "Lily's pretty vocal about her parents, but she never really talks about her sister. I think that's a sore subject for her."

Peter set down his butterbeer and said, "Well I guess I can see why. Blimey, and I thought you were the only one with family problems Sirius."

Sirius rolled his eyes, "Shut up Pete." But there was a small smile on his face. James got up and abandoned his butterbeer. "I'm going to go check on her."

"Are you crazy mate?" asked Sirius as he began to leave. "You two are sworn enemies. You'd have a better chance hexing Dumbledore than getting Lily Evans to talk to you."

"She won't talk to James," he agreed with a nod, "but perhaps she'll talk to Prongs." He started running towards the entrance of the castle.

"Why do you care!?" Sirius shouted just as he was at the door. James paused for a moment and turned around. "I dunno really." But after the words left his mouth, he ran after Lily.

* * *

Lily found her special tree. _The tree _that she did everything at; studies, diary entries, laughing with her friends, and this was the place she came to when she was upset. For a moment she traced the L E that she had carved onto the trunk with her wand a few years back and then she laid her back against the wood. Sobs burst through her throat, carrying the sound throughout the wide open space. A breeze carried over rippling the water and brought on a slight shiver. She tugged her scarf closer to her neck and slumped down against the trunk with more tears in her eyes.

"Stupid Tuney! Stupid Vernon! Stupid Letter! Stupid Wedding!" She was just about to say, "Stupid James," when the leaves rustled behind. Wiping her eyes, Lily turned around to find a brilliant stag stepping out from the forest. For a moment, the stag looked at her as if it was hurt to see her depressed, and then it walked closer and nudged the top of her head with its nose. She felt stupid just sitting there while an animal was nudging her. _Maybe he's hungry _she thought and then checked her robes for food. In one of the pockets a packet of muggle trail mix was in there.

_Do deers eat this? No matter, I'll give it a try. _

"If you're hungry, I have something you might like," she said opening the packet. The many different smells of the assorted snack hit her nose briefly before she turned towards the stag, "You know normally I'd eat it and share it with you but I lost my appetite. So here." Her hand raised up close to the stag's mouth in a gesture to start eating. The deer looked at her for a moment and then dipped his head into the bag. She heard quiet munching and smiled an extremely tiny smile _At least someone's got to be happy tonight. _

It didn't take long for the stag to finish eating and then as a sign of gratitude, he laid his head down on her lap. She was slightly startled by this action, but actually found that she liked the company, despite wanting to be alone before.

As she thought of previously wanting to be alone she remembered why she felt this way in the first place and her tears came back. The stag sensed her sadness and leaned its head upwards to look at her. She had no desire to stifle her sobs and then did something that surprised the stag and herself. She buried her face into his fur and started weeping against him. For a moment, the animal stood completely still and then it moved a bit more so she could have better access. Now his entire body was stretched across both of her thighs and her head was buried into his back. Lily welcomed the action and cried for several minutes before her sobs began to quiet down. And when they finally did, the need to voice her grievances overcame her. She started to talk, "My sister and I were best friends when we were children. We used to do everything together and I….. well, I looked up to her." She was only mildly aware that she was narrating her life story to a stag, "and then Se-Se-Severus came in-into my l-life and he introduced me to this new world."

Lily took another breath to steady herself and then spoke again, "Everything he described was magical. Like something that was pulled out of one of my storybooks. I fell in love with the wizarding world before I even saw it and when I came here, I fell in love even more. But then that drove a wedge between me and Petunia. She branded me a freak and went at great lengths to make sure I wasn't involved in her life. It's like she forgot everything we used to have. She was my best friend before Severus. We used to have nicknames. She would call me Lils and I would call her Tuney but now she won't even say my _name _out loud. Even in that damn letter she couldn't even write _Dear Lily._"

She stopped her ranting for a moment and looked down at the stag. His ears were perked and it was almost as if he was actually listening to all her problems. Lily sighed, "I don't know why I'm doing this. You can hear me, but you can't actually comprehend what I'm saying. But you are the only one I can talk to about this stuff. My friends would try to make me feel better, but they'll never understand. I can't tell mum and dad because upsetting them while they're planning a wedding would not be fair. If Remus ever found out he might end up telling James and you know how that would go. I don't think I'd hear the end of it. _Oi Padfoot! Look! It's Lily Evans! The girl who's so messed up her own sister won't even acknowledge her existence! _

At this the stag actually looked a little angry. Nevertheless, it didn't move from her lap. But Lily didn't need to cry anymore. She had gotten it all out of her system. Gently pushing the deer off, she stood up and brushed some of the dirt off her robes. The deer watched her intently as she fixed her robes and picked up the empty packet of trail mix. She turned to face the animal and then sincerely smiled, "Thank you for listening. I know I sound absolutely stupid talking to you like this, and you can't possibly understand me, but thanks anyways. It almost seemed like you cared when you let me cry on your back and believe it or not, I do feel better now."

She left the lake and walked back to the castle. A breeze carried through lifting up the tendrils of her hair as she neared the castle's large wooden doors. The entire conversation she had with the stag replayed in her mind as the doors swung open. Lily had to pause and legitimately wonder why she revealed so much of her life to an animal when she had such a hard time talking about this stuff with people.

_It's because he couldn't understand what I was saying _she concluded after a minute and found it to be the right conclusion. After all, people are extremely judgmental about things and have no problem voicing their opinions. But animals don't speak their thoughts. They listen. It was nice to be able to talk to something that would just listen.

In her opinion, the stag looked very strong and noble. He wasn't like any normal deer. She knew that if she saw him again she'd definitely be able to recognize him. Lily wasn't exactly sure what it was that made her so confident in being able to identify the deer. It could've been the power that radiated from his stride or maybe it was the gleam in his eye. _The gleam in his eye _she thought _it was truly very beautiful_. It nearly made her heart stop when she thought about it. The deer's eyes were alluring pools of brown that reflected many emotions as she sobbed out her problems. It was almost human, the way anger and sadness reflected over the glassy orbs of hazel that surrounded his pupils.

But a nagging little feeling in her gut was telling her that she had seen those eyes before. More importantly, she felt deep down that she watched the same reflection of emotion in those eyes and did not notice them until now. Could it have been someone she knew or was she merely being imaginative?

_Yes, that's it. I'm imagining. But I do hope I see that stag again _she thought as she walked down the dimly lit hall and towards the Gryffindor Common Room. She was far from feeling perfect, but at least she was pacified for the time being and that seemed to be enough. As Lily made it into the girl's dormitory and slipped under the covers of her four poster bed, a very queer thought slipped into her head.

It may have only been her imagination but she could've sworn she had seen those hazel eyes twice in one day. One does not forgot being looked at with that much emotion so easily. But no matter how hard she tried, her memory seemed to fail her. At last she sighed and tugged the covers over her head. "Why am I trying to make a human out of a deer," she murmured to herself "I'm going mad." After all, it wasn't as if the deer actually understood her.

_Yeah I started a new story. But don't go getting the wrong impression that I won't be updating the Hermione and Ron story that I've been working on. No worries people, it will happen. An update will come. I just need some new ideas._

_Aaaaannnnndd I'm using improper grammar but at the moment I don't care :P. So tell me what you guys thought about it. _

_Did you like it?_

_Love it?_

_Hate it?_

_Was it just half and half?_

_Well don't leave me guessing! Let me know :) by commenting, following, favoriting, etc. _

_And I want you all to know my lovely editor for this chapter who has an account on . She writes amazingly and she is an awesome person. YOU MUST CHECK HER OUT :). _

_Her username is __**MindlessMazes**__ and she's really cool and if you were awesome you'd totally check her out. _

_Okay so until next time…..be good and don't drink hot coffee. You only make that mistake once. _


	2. Complications With Friendships

Sunlight beamed through the thick red curtains of Lily's room and momentarily blinded her as she got up. Thankfully, her roommates Alice, Marlene and Mary were asleep so they couldn't question her about her unexpected disappearance during dinner, but she wasn't doubtful on the fact that she'd later be confronted with questions during breakfast. Alice did not concern her too much due to the fact that she maintained a very timid nature, however Mary and Marlene were relentless. If they weren't wizards she had no doubt they'd go into the field of law. No criminal would be able to get away from their relentless questioning and penetrating glares. She could've mistaken them for dementors every time they threw her a dark expression considering it made her feel as if they were able to look into her soul.

She shuddered at the thought of facing a death glare from either of them and nervously played with a strand of her red hair. _Alright, quit worrying so much and just start getting ready _a nagging part of her mind said to her. She shook her head in amusement before grabbing her bag of toiletries and getting out of her four poster bed. Lily's eyes paused on Marlene's sleeping form for a minute before she turned towards the bathroom to take a shower. She was still getting used to seeing someone else in her old roommate's bed. Marlene wasn't originally meant to share a room with her and the rest of her friends. In fact, Lily didn't even know Marlene existed until this year. There was only one class the two of them had together and afterwards, neither of them saw each other unless they occasionally walked into the common room at the same time.

Just recently, her old roommate Lucy announced that she would no longer attend Hogwarts and withdrew from the school. She made several promises of coming back for their seventh year and swore that she'd write consistently, but for a long period of time, Lucy was very discreet on why she needed to leave. In a span of two months, they watched her grow cold and unfeeling, only responding to them in one word phrases such as "yes" and "no." Finally, about a week into February, Lily had walked into the dorm right after dinner and caught Lucy spontaneously bursting into tears.

She could still recall every detail from that night.

_The wooden door shut behind her as the handle to the door stung her palm from its icy coldness. She couldn't understand why the doorknobs were always this way, even in warmer months. She thought it was probably the work of a charm but then disregarded the thought. Why would anyone waste perfectly good magic on doorknobs?_

_ Sighing, she pulled the sleeve of her cloak to cover her exposed arm and looked around the room. It seemed no different than how she had left it, however she could tell that Lucy had moved a little from the position she was in earlier. _

_ "Lu, I got you some dinner from the Great Hall. You wouldn't believe how good the pudding tasted today. I put some in a goblet for you so you could-what's wrong?" _

_Lily stopped talking as she noticed her friend was a little more off than usual. And then it happened. She heard a dry sob and her eyes widened. One, two, three tears slipped from Lucy's eyes and then they became more consistent. The tears multiplied in numbers rapidly and in a matter of minutes she was sobbing her eyes out. Lily was greatly alarmed by this and ran down the stairs into the Gryffindor Common Room. _

_A few of the students were sitting in some of the squatty armchairs and working on large quantities of homework while others had already retired to bed. From the far corner she saw the Marauders completely engrossed on a piece of paper, probably a new ridiculous prank that would result in losing more house points. But for once, Lily wasn't concerned with docking points from James Potter and his group of mischievous misfits (with the exception of Remus). _

_She was more concerned with finding her other two friends so they could help her console Lucy. After a quick analyzation of the room, her green eyes landed on Mary and Alice. She didn't even care if she would cause a scene, because she was desperate to ease the heartache of her friend. "Mary! Al!" she shouted. Several people (including the Marauders) looked up from their work. Ignoring several stares she said to the two, "You have to come quick! Lucy's crying."_

_They both exchanged scared and concerned looks before running up the stairs with her into the dorm room. She opened the wooden door again to find Lucy exactly as she had left her, sobbing her heart out. _

_Alice was the first to walk over, "Lu what happened? What's wrong?"_

"_Yeah you never cry," said Lily, while sitting down on the other end of her bed. "I think this is the first time I've ever seen you so upset."_

"_You know we're there for you right?" Mary added. "Tell us what's wrong and we'll help you through it."_

_They coaxed her for about an hour before she finally gave in. Lucy's lip trembled as she spoke "M-m-my dad's d-d-d-d-dead."_

_Shock crossed all three of them and for the first time in an hour they fell silent. Lucy used the silence to her advantage and went on talking, "H-he w-was out d-doing a j-job and he g-got hit by the k-k-killing curse."_

She stretched the detail into great lengths about the event as if she could no longer hold it inside. In fact, Lily would've bet a hundred galleons that she probably couldn't.

About two months earlier, her father had been on an important mission for the Auror department. Several death eaters were attacking innocent muggles in Cambridge and the Ministry was immediately involved. During the mission, Lucy's father was trying to save a muggle boy and was hit by a killing curse in the process. It was very hard for her to swallow at first, but one look from Lucy had her no longer questioning it. The words, "_Are you sure?" _were choked back down her throat.

After she told the truth, Lily had tears in her eyes as well. She personally knewLucy's father and was very much fond of him. She accompanied them several times during her visits to Diagon Alley and invited them over for dinner during Easter holidays. It was difficult to accept the truth that a good man like Charles Rivers was gone, and she realized it was probably even harder for Lucy. Guilt washed over her like ice water being injected into her veins. All this time she had been angry with her friend for not saying anything, but how could someone reveal something so horrible and heartbreaking without hurting inside. Lily didn't even know if she would've told her friends if put in a similar situation. She felt the incredible urge to make it up to Lucy.

And so, after the incident, she, Mary, and Alice stood by her every day and made it their mission to put a smile back on her face. It took a while, but eventually, they were successful and when the time came to say their goodbyes, they made sure to do so without tears.

Lucy hadn't wavered her decision in dropping out of school for one year. She said that her family needed her and she could not live with herself if she were to abandon her mother and sisters in the name of education.

"I've got some fixing to do," she told them on the last day of school. "You three helped me get better when I was upset, but my mum doesn't have anyone for that nor do my sisters. They're all probably too depressed to move on with Dad's death. I remember the first time I laughed at something after hearing the news. It felt good, but I was also feeling guilty for being happy when I lost someone close to me. It took a long time to convince myself that it was okay to smile, and I bet they're going through the same internal agony. I need to be there to convince them that things will get better like you lot did for me. I have to bring back the happiness so they can stop feeling so empty. When I've successfully done that, I'll come back to school."

Lily understood immediately and wished her farewell, but then a question that was never asked finally popped up into her mind. _Who would fill the empty space?_ After much anticipation, she received a letter from Dumbledore saying that a new girl named Marlene McKinnon was to join them in place of Lucy.

Lily wrote back saying she was content with his choice and waited patiently for the arrival of Marlene. The girl came in on the first day of school carrying a bold attitude and took a two hour nap with her luggage scattered against the sides of her bed like litter. Needless to say, her first impression of Marlene McKinnon was not a very good one. Mary seemed to agree with her, but Alice refused to base an opinion so quickly. She always tells them that first impressions should not rule your judgment. Grudgingly, Lily learned to agree with her. She was taken completely by surprise when she found herself actually enjoying Marlene's company and becoming good friends with her.

In the end, she was glad that she had been wrong about Marlene McKinnon. But of course, that didn't stop her from getting annoyed with Alice as she playfully sang, "I told you so!"

Sighing at these thoughts, Lily took a step back into reality and slipped into the shower with her fresh clothes hanging on a hook near the shower curtain. After about twenty minutes, she walked out with a towel wrapped around her body and caught Marlene, Mary, and Alice coming out from the other showers with similar towels on. A moment of silence lingered in the air before they all attacked her with questions.

"Lily what happened last night?"

"Lily you shouldn't have just ran off like that. You had us worried sick!"

"Lily you owe as an answer. You can't just get upset and leave because of one sodding letter! What did it say anyways?"

Lily, Lily, Lily!

"Stop it you three!" she shouted with annoyance embedded into her voice. "At least let me get into some decent clothing before you carry out an interrogation. Besides, you know better than to hound me in the morning. I'm not telling you anything while we're standing near the loo. More importantly, I don't know how on earth we'd actually be able to carry a conversation in here while we're running out of time. As of right now, we have ten minutes to get our high ends to the Great Hall if we want breakfast, and I will notbe late after what happened last time."

Lily momentarily shuddered as Marlene and Mary shared knowing smirks. A week ago, they were running late, and she had been confronted by a Slytherin first year who thought it was funny to change her hair green for the day. It wasn't even an appealing shade of green like the Slytherin ties. This was a very disgusting green that one would get if they put the wrong ingredients into a potion. The color had made her shudder every time she saw herself in a mirror, and it was a wonder to her as to why none of the bathroom mirrors had cracked at her appearance.

The spell wasn't the type to wear off immediately and refused to change until the very end of the day as she was finishing her Charms homework. After that little encounter, she knew not to lag behind during the time the first years came out. Heaven only knew what she'd do if her hair turned green again. Coming back to reality, Lily withheld herself from glaring at her friends for smiling at the memory and curtly spoke again, "Anyways, I don't care if you're my friends or not. All of you will lose points if we're not out of here immediately. So if you want answers, you'll just have to be patient enough to wait until breakfast." _Where there are witnesses _she added mentally. Mary and Marlene threw her quick glares whereas Alice merely shrugged and turned towards her clothes. All of them got dressed as quickly as they possibly could without a word (seeing as they only had ten minutes) and scurried down to the Great Hall with their bags loosely hanging from their shoulders.

They had all finally managed to find seats and piled up their plates with hot food. Then, three pairs of eyes directly aimed their gazes on Lily. "Alright explain," Marlene ordered with her arms firmly crossed over her plate of bacon and eggs. Lily sighed and leaned her head against her palm, fiery red curls spilling down from between her fingers. "Where do I start?" she moaned while taking a bite of some toast.

Mary rolled her eyes. "Well love, I think the beginning is a good place."

"Funny," she replied, "Very amusing."

"Oh get on with it!" Marlene snapped as the owls came in to deliver their daily mail. "I swear, you're stalling more than I do when it comes to answering a question in class. By the time you actually do tell, we'll all be riding home on the train for summer hols!"

"Alright Marls keep your pants on!" she exclaimed as the other two turned their heads away to hide their smirks. "I walked off yesterday because of my sister. There, happy?"

For several minutes no one spoke and if it wasn't for the occasional blinking, Lily could've sworn someone had just used _Petrificus Totalus _on all three of them. Finally, Alice was the first to snap out of it. "You never mentioned you had a sister."

"Well it's not something I typically like to work into a conversation. I've only ever told Remus and that was because he pried it out of me," she said with her face down. Heat ran up her cheeks as she felt their stares poking holes into her. "It's not that big of a deal!" she continued defensively as they refused to waver their gazes.

Mary put her fork down "Lily Evans, I've known you for years now, and Alice and I have been your best friends since we were eleven and got sorted into Gryffindor. Why would you never tell us that you have a sister? Don't give me the excuse that you couldn't work it into a conversation! We've lived in the same dorm and practically figured out everything about each other since our first year in this school. I've always had the impression that you were an only child. I even asked you if you had any siblings and you said no. Why was it so important to lie to me about that?"

Lily was trying hard to beat down her anger as Marlene and Alice nodded to Mary's words. "My life isn't yours to observe Mary. Why is it so bad that I didn't tell you about my older sister?"

"You didn't hide it Lily. You lied to us."

"Because I had to!"

"WHY!"

She shook her head in agitation "You don't really want to know about Petunia," she stated boldly. "She's not that important."

Alice frowned. "She's important if she's the reason you were fighting back tears after reading that letter last night."

"And that is no excuse to bail on us," Marlene piped in. "How would you feel if one of us got up during the middle of dinner and stalked away without returning until we were all asleep? If something's wrong you should tell us. Friends don't keep secrets from other friends!"

Lily was practically fuming by now. Couldn't they realize that she would have secrets of her own that would never be revealed to them? Not every secret in her life was meant for their ears. Perhaps in the wizarding world people were as readable and transparent as an open book, however the muggle world was different. There were things that even her family did not know about her, let alone her friends. And she had practically told her friends everything in her life. Everything that didn't include Petunia Evans. Thinking back, she should've watched her mouth and treaded on her secrets carefully rather than blurt out that she had a sister in a moment of anger.

Lily was about to respond to them again when an owl landed next to her plate and dutifully stuck out its leg to deliver her mail. Another letter and the Daily Prophet were attached to the talons. She pulled them both out of the bird's grip and paid it a nut before pushing a little bit of pumpkin juice in its direction. The owl gulped down some of the juice in gratitude before adjusting its wings and flying off into the air.

She turned back to her friends who were watching their own owls leave before looking at her again. Marlene faced her with narrowed eyes as Mary folded her arms in irritation. Alice was nervously glancing back and forth between the three of them, wondering what the argument would result in. Lily folded her hands perplexedly. "Listen you lot. My sister is a very hard topic for me. We don't normally see eye to eye and she tries not to acknowledge my existence. Petunia does not have an ounce of magical blood in her, and she prides in that. I don't like talking about her because the very thought of her has me feeling inferior. So I beg you three to just drop it and not approach the subject again."

They took in her pleading gaze and finally, their expressions softened. Mary and Marlene nodded whereas Alice gave her a small smile and unrolled her copy of the Daily Prophet. Lily silently thanked Merlin that her friends did not bother to dwell too much on the subject and moved on. With a newfound elation, she opened her letter without looking at the address and started to read.

_Dear Lily, _

_ I hope school's going well for you. I know term started about a month ago, but I haven't found the time to write until now. Of course, I know you'll forgive me. You always do. _

_ Things have been kind of hard at home. Mum still hasn't gotten over Dad's death, and I find her crying at the most random moments. I don't think I've completely gotten over Dad's death, either but I'm trying to be strong for mum and for my sisters. _

_But the part that really bugs me about it is that everyone else has a shoulder to cry on except me. It's hard fighting back tears every day and forcing out phrases like "it's alright" and "things will get better." Sometimes I wish you were here to tell me what to do just like you do with Transfiguration homework. I don't know why, but I have a feeling that you'd know what to say. _

_ However, that's beside the point. My intentions for writing this letter were not to bring up sad things, so I'll focus on happy things instead. I got my OWL exam results and they were all E's and O's. It brought a smile to mum's face and to mine as well. Good lord, the exams were killing me during fifth year. I was so happy when they were finally over. Believe it or not, I lost some hair during that week. I don't think I ever want to face that much stress again. _

_ I got the sweets from Honeydukes that you sent me about two weeks ago. Thank you for them. I've been missing the taste of Honeydukes candy, and it was practically driving me insane knowing everyone else got to visit Hogsmeade during the weekend while I didn't. You remembered that I liked sugar quills, didn't you? The card in the package read "to the queen of writing" and I think your three boxes of sugar quills wasn't any coincidence. That was nice of you Lily. _

_ Anyways, Mum's calling me down for dinner now, and I think this letter's long enough. You'll most likely be getting this at breakfast, because it'll arrive when the owls come in to deliver the post. Eat quickly and get to class because I know you're stubborn about always being on time. But remember to write soon okay? _

_Hoping to hear from you,_

_ Lucy _

Lily set down her former roommate's letter as her lips widened into a smile of enthusiasm and sadness. Although she absolutely adored Marlene, there were times when she really wished she could talk to Lucy again. Spending their sixth year in Hogwarts was going very well so far, but it wasn't completely the same without her other best friend. She couldn't deny that she missed Lucy a lot and getting letters from her always started her day on a good note.

Her brightened eyes met Alice's blue ones. "Hey Alice, I just got a letter and-what's wrong?" She stopped short as Alice met her eyes with a sad and angry expression. "Take a look at the prophet today," She said handing the newspaper to Lily.

Lily took it from her hands and started to read.

_You Know Who Strikes Again _

_ Amelia Erin_

_ Just recently, Auror Peter Davies was attacked by a group of death eaters in muggle London. The number of witnesses were significantly high and the ministry's department of Magical Misuse stepped in to clear almost twenty muggles of their memory. Davies was sent immediately to Saint Mungos Hospital for intensive care and has not fully responded yet. Many believe that he was attacked because of his strong belief in a mixed society. It has been well known that he supports the idea of muggleborn wizards being a part of the magical world. Other aurors have also expressed their opinions about this matter and most of them favor towards Davies' ideas of equality. _

_It could be said that this attack was horrifying and meaningless, but is it really? You Know Who may have had a point behind his heinous actions. Muggleborns are not originally part of our society. Their magical abilities are acquired by accident. They are accidents. Does that mean we should involve them into our lives and let them hold a significance in our world? Maybe we should listen to the statements that people like You Know Who are making and cleanse our society of impurity before it becomes our downfall. More about this on page 7. _

As she finished the second paragraph, a hard glare shaped her face. Lily had the urge to tear the stupid newspaper into little tiny bits and dump all the scraps into a fire. She read the name of the author for the pathetic little article. _Amelia Erin. _Not once had she heard or read of anything by Amelia Erin. And she was practically the queen of books! She read everything she could possibly get her hands on.

Lily was so lost in thought that she barely registered Mary yanking the paper from her hands until her fingers pinched empty air. Snapping out of her daze, she turned to face her friends, "Looks like the prophet's taking a dark turn these days."

In record time, Mary had scanned the entire page, viciously scrutinized it with her eyes, and thrown it onto the floor so it could feel the wrath of her shoe. "Damn Amelia Erin and every racist thought she has in her little screwed over head."

Lily had to agree with every word Mary said, "How did she get away with this? The prophet can't turn attacks into a conflict between blood purity! Right?"

Alice sighed, "I don't know. The writers of the prophet can do anything they want and if they have a number of supporters they can continue it."

"Which they probably will," Marlene added. "Those stupid bloody morons have nothing better to do than to fill these papers with shit."

Lily rolled her eyes at her friend, "Language Marls."

Marlene rolled her eyes right back, "English Lily."

Lily tried to be mad but after a comment like that she couldn't help but smile, and then grin, and then burst out laughing. Alice, Mary, and Marlene joined her after a few seconds, silently relishing on the fact of how weird they were. Only seconds ago had they been fuming over a ridiculous article and now they were madly giggling. It was probably one of the weirdest moments they'd ever encountered.

But each one of them understood the dark times they were heading into. So, a little random laughter every now and then was perfectly acceptable.

* * *

"Alright Prongs. What have you done?"

James turned his head 180 degrees to the left to see a frowning Sirius watching him with calculating eyes.

"What are you on about Padfoot?" he asked as Sirius's eyebrows dipped into a frown while effectively adding a wrinkle on the smooth plane of his forehead.

Peter and Remus threw him exasperated looks as Sirius exclaimed, "C'mon James. I'm talking about Evans. Lily Evans!"

James took a moment to pause and watched as each one of his friends morphed their expressions into articulate gazes.

"And what about Evans has gotten all three of your boxers in a bunch?" he drawled while idly playing with his fork, "It's not like she's sprouted a tentacle or anything."

"No," added Peter, "But she might as well have, judging by the amount of times you've looked at her this morning."

"Besides mate," added Remus, "Seeing as you came in pretty late last night with this solemn look on your face, I have a feeling something serious went down between you and Lily."

"Well Moony, aren't you the epitome of observance this morning," James added nonchalantly as his mouth quirked into a tiny smile. But Remus did not smile back, "I'm serious James. What happened last night?"

He sighed, "Well, you could say quite a lot happened last night. Evans and I actually had a conversation without uttering a single swear word. I think you can count that as an accomplishment. Too bad it was only one sided." And then he dwelled into the events of the night, explaining what she had told him and how upset she had gotten over her grievances. When he finally stopped speaking, his throat was raw and dry and it took about three goblets of pumpkin juice to quench the burn.

"Wow," said Sirius as James finished draining his third goblet, "That's absolutely mental."

"I know," he said nodding in agreement. "But I feel really weird now. We both had a connection last night and she doesn't even know it. I can't pretend to dislike her anymore after she sobbed out her problems onto my back. But it's not like I can go up and say, "Hey Evans. I was that stag you happened to be pouring your heart out to last night. Want to be friends?"

Peter shrugged. "Well, why not?"

The three of them stared at Pete, sincerely dumbfounded, until Sirius burst out laughing at that question. "C'mon Pete, use your brain will you! Do you think the ability to understand a difficult situation exists in a Gryffindor girl or any girl for that matter? Evans will have his head if he says anything to her. Besides, last I checked, they're supposed to be acting as if they'd rather not touch each other with a ten foot pole. Just getting the opportunity to talk to Lily Evans without a commotion will be hard enough let alone getting her to understand."

"I suppose your right," said Peter as he shoveled food into his mouth, "which is odd because zyou're never right."

Sirius flicked a grape at him in response and Peter retaliated by flicking back some scrambled eggs from his spoon. A great food war started between the two and was only interrupted when Remus threatened to dock off points if they didn't cut it out.

Of course, Remus wasn't able to sound serious throughout any of it as the sight of various pieces of food stuck in Sirius and Pete's hair had him and James uncontrollably howling with laughter.

* * *

_I think my head is catnip for the monstrosity known as writers block. I don't know how long I sat in front of this computer waiting for thoughts to come out of my head until I got a headache and forced myself to not look at the laptop for a good hour. And then about a day afterwards, I sat in front of it again and sneezed the whole chapter out. So you could say this may not be some of my best work but I'm proud to call it mine :)._

_Did you like it? Love it? Hate it? _

_Well don't keep it to yourself. Tell me how you feel and I'd appreciate a favorite/ follow if you thought it was good. _

_The picture in the cover is from viria 13 on deviantart. I absolutely love it :). _

_And that's about it for me. _

_Until next time!_

_You are you and I am potterwatch101. _


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